Joseph Hwang
Survival shows, in which contestants audition and compete to be ranked, have been an important form of content when the media status of television has been shaken. The K-pop industry believes that while survival TV shows have inspired and energized established artists, TV stations have benefited more than K-pop production companies.
1. Weaknesses of K-pop Production Companies and Opportunities for TV Stations
There are many different formats for survival TV programs. We may think that audition-based survival shows are only for new artists to debut, but that’s a bias influenced by an artist-owner’s perspective, such as that of K-pop production companies. TV channels can do almost anything to attract viewers’ attention.
TV survival shows can be produced and aired for established artists competing for the top spot as well as newcomers making their debut. In some programs, individual artists are even invited to form idol groups and turn the audition process into a debut stage. Some programs divide K-pop into genres and select the best artists from each, while others limit the format to crossover music, mixing traditional Korean music with modern pop. Trot music is a given.
The reason behind the rise of talent shows as the main content of TV stations is the changing media environment. The media landscape of the Internet has meant that one-way broadcasts no longer appeal to audiences. Two-way interactivity has become the default format for media consumers. Broadcasters find it harder to engage both younger and older generations with one-way programs.
However, K-pop production companies are also aware of this changing media landscape and the crisis of the legacy networks. They have the artists; therefore, they can create these audition survival shows if they want to. But the lifeblood of a ranking show is authority and fairness. When a production company with K-pop artists creates its program and hosts the competition, fairness becomes an issue. Knowing this weakness, broadcasters could establish authority and fairness and even create new business opportunities if the process of ranking artists’ popularity is handled by broadcasters, with the new stars generated by this process entrusted to K-pop production companies. This broadcasting format also aligns with the new media environment, which has become more bidirectional and interactive. The station has a strong rationale for creating this type of program.
2. Fraud and Corruption
In some cases, these survival shows have had successful debuts; in others, they’ve received a satisfactory public response. Some have flopped, but at least they’ve paved the way for the next season’s show.
Just as the show was gaining popularity and becoming a brand, a scandal erupted at one of the networks. For financial gain, a station manipulated the rankings of an artist competition that was supposed to be transparent and fair. All those involved were prosecuted. However, it left many scars on the industry and the fans.
It all starts with money. Broadcasters need to make a profit, and the winning artist is a valuable commodity created by the broadcaster. Managing roles and selling that commodity is difficult for the broadcaster. For one thing, it’s not in their wheelhouse, and it causes a conflict of interest. When an artist was tagged as a survival show alum, other stations were reluctant to cast them on their shows. This was because other stations also had their survival shows that they produced and aired, and they had to promote the artists from those shows.
The contest is also prone to randomness, which makes it difficult for the station to create a winner as intended. The temptation to manipulate or distort the winner’s ranking is too great. This is reckless and ruins the artist, the K-pop production company, and the broadcaster.
3. Solution
As the broadcasters gained experience, they discovered a solution to this problem. They resolved the issue of broadcasters creating stars while other parties reaped the profits by indirectly owning them. In some cases, broadcasters set up subsidiaries or joint ventures with other K-pop producers to own the winners; in other instances, broadcasters subcontracted with other K-pop producers to share the winners from the planning stage of the broadcast. These methods have proven effective. Most importantly, as legacy media in a changing media environment, the broadcasters have adapted to the changes. Broadcasters should strive to create a two-way interactive relationship with audiences. As long as these changes and crises continue, this survival show will keep being produced and broadcast season after season.
* References and Quotations:
https://en.namu.wiki/w/%ED%94%84%EB%A1%9C%EB%93%80%EC%8A%A4%20101%20%EC%8B%9C%EB%A6%AC%EC%A6%88%20%ED%88%AC%ED%91%9C%20%EC%A1%B0%EC%9E%91%20%EC%82%AC%EA%B1%B4
https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/2021/01/22/entertainment/television/Produce-101-Mnet-MBK/20210122140500618.html
https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/art/2024/08/398_348556.html
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